recaps
Season 39
Today’s Final Jeopardy – Friday, May 19, 2023
Warning: This page contains spoilers for the May 19, 2023, game ofJeopardy!— please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Current Champion
Matthew Riggle, career statistics:
47 correct, 6 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
41.23% in first on buzzer (47/114)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,300
To win:
3 games: 68.027%
4: 46.277%
5: 31.481%
6: 21.415%
7: 14.568%
Avg. streak: 4.128 games.
(Next game: September 14)
(Click Here for Methodology)
Upcoming Encore Presentations
August 12: S42 E98 (January 21, 2026)
August 13: S42 E99 (January 22, 2026)
August 14: S42 E100 (January 23, 2026)
August 15-16: S41 E141 (March 24, 2025)
August 17: S42 E101 (January 26, 2026)
August 18: S42 E105 (January 30, 2026)
August 19: S42 E102 (January 27, 2026)
August 20: S42 E103 (January 28, 2026)
August 21: S42 E104 (January 29, 2026)
August 22-23: S41 E142 (March 25, 2025)
August 24: S42 E106 (February 2, 2026)
August 25: S42 E107 (February 3, 2026)
August 26: S42 E108 (February 4, 2026)
August 27: S42 E109 (February 5, 2026)
August 28: S42 E110 (February 6, 2026)
August 29-30: S41 E143 (March 26, 2025)
(Source: Bell Fibe TV program guide)
All Time Winnings
All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Regular Play Only:
1. Ken Jennings $2,520,700
2. James Holzhauer $2,462,216
3. Matt Amodio $1,518,601
4. Amy Schneider $1,382,800
5. Jamie Ding $882,605
6. Cris Pannullo $748,286
7. Mattea Roach $560,983
8. Jason Zuffranieri $532,496
9. Scott Riccardi $455,000
10. David Madden $430,400
11. Julia Collins $428,100
12. Matt Jackson $411,612
13. Austin Rogers $411,000
14. Ray Lalonde $386,400
15. Harrison Whitaker $373,999
16. Adriana Harmeyer $349,600
17. Caleb Groen $346,968
18. Adam Remsen $306,415
19. Ryan Long $299,400
20. Arthur Chu $297,200
All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Including Tournaments (and Consolation Prizes):
1. Brad Rutter $4,968,436
2. Ken Jennings $4,372,700
3. James Holzhauer $3,614,216
4. Matt Amodio $1,964,601
5. Amy Schneider $1,864,800
6. Yogesh Raut $1,098,403
7. Mattea Roach $897,983
8. Jamie Ding $885,605
9. David Madden $785,733
10. Victoria Groce $773,801
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Larissa Kelly $671,930
14. Matt Jackson $623,612
15. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
16. Andrew He $534,365
17. Scott Riccardi $533,000
18. Jerome Vered $499,102
19. Julia Collins $495,767
20. Austin Rogers $493,000
21. Ben Ingram $449,201
22. Paolo Pasco $448,717
23. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
24. Buzzy Cohen $441,603
25. Juveria Zaheer $441,000
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Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category The USA) for Friday, May 19, 2023 (Season 39, Game 180):
People going north on this route say they’re traveling “GAME”, an acronym regarding their beginning & ending points
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Chris Hammer, a teacher from McKinney, Texas
Erica Johnson, a stay-at-home mom from Greenbelt, Maryland
Ben Chan, a philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin (7-day total: $213,000)
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
After another commanding victory last night, Ben Chan now has seven runaways in seven games; the only other player to do that was Chuck Forrest, who also had runaways in his first seven trips to the stage. However, we get into a bit of a counting issue regarding Chuck’s eighth match. Chuck’s eighth match was a 2-day match, the Tournament of Champions final of 1986. In that match, Chuck only led Paul Rouffa and Marvin Shinkman $7,600–$4,000–$2,800 going into Final Jeopardy! on the first day of the final. However, Chuck’s Day 2 performance was enough to go into Final Jeopardy! on that second day with a lock tournament. So, the question is: does Chuck Forrest have 8 runaways to start a Jeopardy! career, or does he just have 7?
Today’s challengers are Maryland’s Erica Johnson and Texas’s Chris Hammer. Will either of them be able to stop the buzzsaw that is Ben?
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(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is the Appalachian Trail?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
The Appalachian Trail is a 2,170-mile-long East Coast trail in the United States, running from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. Along with the Continental Divide Trail (running along the Continental Divide) and the Pacific Crest Trail, the three long-distance trails are known as the Triple-Crown. Those through-hiking northbound use the terms GAME (Georgia to Maine) or NoBo (Northbound), while those through-hiking southbound use the terms MEGA (Maine to Georgia) or SoBo (Southbound).
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, May 19, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Some Of The 10 Commandments; On A First-Name Basis With Booze; Hurray For Hollywood!; Those Balls Have “I”S; Multiple Meanings; Gates)
In a game that felt sluggish to start, Ben broke things upen after the break by converting a True Daily Double (with an incorrect response that he’d given earlier!) Erica, who definitely seemed to be enjoying herself, sat second.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Ben 6 correct 1 incorrect
Erica 3 correct 0 incorrect
Chris 2 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Chris taught ToCer Jaskaran Singh.
Erica has a 3-year-old son; but she secretly likes eating his snacks.
Ben is an Ultimate Frisbee champion in Green Bay.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Ben 14 correct 1 incorrect
Erica 6 correct 0 incorrect
Chris 5 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Ben $10,400
Erica $3,600
Chris $1,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Sweet 1616; Literary Mismatches; The Human Body; Hip-Hop Names; Anagrams; Gaits)
Ben lost $10,000 combined on the pair of Daily Doubles in this one—which I bet gave him (and his fans) some heartburn! It did not matter, though, as Ben’s knowledge of hip hop names secured his 8th runaway in 8 games!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Ben 29 correct 5 incorrect
Erica 9 correct 2 incorrect
Chris 9 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 26 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Ben $12,400
Erica $4,800
Chris $3,400
All 3 players got Final correct; Ben comes back on Monday as champion to go for win #9!
Tonight’s results:
Chris $3,400 + $3,299 = $6,699 (What is the Appalachian Trail?)
Erica $4,800 + $4,800 = $9,600 (What is the Appalachin Trail?)
Ben $12,400 + $2,400 = $14,800 (What is the Appalachian Trail?) (8-day total: $227,800)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) THOSE BALLS HAVE “I”s $600 (clue #21)
Ben 4000 +4000 (Erica 3000 Chris 400)
2) SWEET 1616 $1600 (clue #2)
Ben 11200 -4000 (Erica 3600 Chris 1400)
3) LITERARY MISMATCHES $1200 (clue #12, $19600 left on board)
Ben 13600 -6000 (Erica 4400 Chris 2200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 20
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Ben 3 4 5 2 4 4 5 4 5 4 5 3 5 3*
Erica 1 2 3 1
Chris 3 2 2
DJ! Round:
Ben 4* 3 5 4 2 5 5 4 3*
Erica 1
Chris 2 3†
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Ben 3.96
Erica 1.60
Chris 2.40
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 26 (0.14 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Ben $19,000 Coryat, 29 correct, 5 incorrect, 54.39% in first on buzzer (31/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Erica $4,800 Coryat, 9 correct, 2 incorrect, 17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Chris $3,400 Coryat, 9 correct, 3 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $27,200
Lach Trash: $14,000 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $12,800
Player Statistics:
Ben Chan, career statistics:
235 correct, 20 incorrect
7/9 on rebound attempts (on 29 rebound opportunities)
47.59% in first on buzzer (217/456)
16/21 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $32,205)
7/8 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $23,475
Erica Johnson, career statistics:
10 correct, 2 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $4,800
Chris Hammer, career statistics:
10 correct, 3 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $3,400
Ben Chan, to win:
9 games: 77.105%
10: 59.452%
11: 45.840%
12: 35.345%
13: 27.253%
Avg. streak: 11.368 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- “Appalachia” has two equally acceptable pronunciations.
It may have worked out today for the challengers in that Ben missed both Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy, but 1s and daggers by your name in the “Clue Selection By Row” section are generally not a path to victory.
Today’s box score: May 19, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Ben $12,400 Erica $4,800 Chris $3,400)
Ben: Limit your bet to $2,799. (Actual bet: $2,400)
Erica: Standard cover bet over Chris is $2,001. (Actual bet: $4,800)
Chris: Limit your bet to $599; this stays ahead of Erica if she covers and is incorrect. (Actual bet: $3,299)
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